6 - Tuesday, December 3, 2013

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

M\ichigan to meet Duke,
Jabari Parker in Raleig
By DANIEL FELDMAN
Daily Sports Writer
After a cupcake at home, the
Michigan men's basketball team
will enter the belly of the beast to
test its true caliber. )
As part of the Big Ten/ACC
Challenge, the 22nd-ranked I
Wolverines (5-2) will travel to
play Duke and
famed fresh- MiChigan
man standout at Duke
Jabari Parker
Parker, who Matchup:
was named the Michigan 5-2;
Preseason ACC Duke 6-2
Rookie of the When:
Year as well Tuesdayr
a member of 9:20 P.M.
the preseason Where:
All-ACC team, Cameront
has gone on to Indoor
justify the high TV/Radio:
praise. The ESPN
Chicago native
is averaging 23
points and eight rebounds per
game through the 10th-ranked
Blue Devils' (6-2) early slate. dPATRICK BARoR/Daily
"Everybody talks a lot about Sophomore forward Glenn Robinson 1ll1will likely be tasked with guarding freshman phenom Jabari Parker Tuesday.
Jabari Parker, and obviously he's

0

Freshman point guard Siera Thompson is second on the team in scoring with 14
points per game, but she has averaged 19.7 per game in the last three games.
Five Things We
Learned: Barclays
Center Invitational

0I

special," said I
John Beilein. "H
doing things tha
first-year pro and
first-year pro. He
tremendous playe
The spotlight
Parker, but on t
the court, the s
gan's unexpected
Stauskas, remain:
Still hobbled f
ankle that he s
Charlotte in the I
off championshij
was held out of1
game last Friday
State. His status f
depend largely o
ticed on Monday.
With Stauskas
to be announced,
fifth-year senior
Morgan and sop]
Mitch McGary
front if the guar
Stauskas can pla
may start, but th:
be announced.

Los Angel
Edi
ACROSS
1 Cathedral area
5 Toes
10 Reps: Abbr.
14 Garden teeter
supplp
15 Dot in the ocean
16 Circus
per1ormer?
17 Tune
18 Thin, decorative
metal
20 hata63-Across
map speak
21 The last Mrs.
Chaplin
22 Grand Rapids-to-
Detroit dir.
23 Getsmarried
27 This, to Michelle
28 Morose
29 Geometric suffix
30 Like potato chips
32 Lulus
36 Mastransit
carrier
37 Dangerous things
to risk
39 Retirement
destination?
40Wimps
41 Underworld
group
43 Printer's widths
44 Cookie container
47 Renoiroutput
48 Eque rian's
supplybo
53Spoil
54 Alabama, but not
Kansas?
55 "Picnic"
playwright
56 Oe, toone, e.g.
60 "Aint
Misbehavin'
Tony winner
Carter
61 Throw hard
62 Hero's quality
63 Hebrides native
64 Desires
65 Burning desire?
66 Chop _:
Chinese
Ameritan dish
DOWN
1 Valuables
2 Illinoisitythat
symbolizes
Middle America

dichigan coach Regardless of whether the
e comes in there Wolverines go with one big man
t Kobe did as a in the starting lineup or two, the\
LeBron did as a game plan will still be the same.
's a tremendous, No matter if Stauskas is out or
r." not, Michigan has a height advan-1
will remain on tage.
he other side of After the 6-foot-8 combo 9
tatus of Michi- of Parker and Rodney Hood
I superstar, Nik (20 points per game), no other
s uncertain. player of that size or above aver- ,
rom a sprained ages more than 16 minutes or 5.8
uffered against points per game. With that in r
Puerto Rico Tip- mind, expect Michigan to look to t
p game, Stauskas get the ball under the basket more
the Wolverines' than it has so far this year.K
against Coppin "We're looking to maybe go
or the game will inside a little bit," said sopho-
n how he prac- more forward Glenn Robinsona
III. "Feed Mitch, feed the post,
's availability yet and hopefully that'll work. And
Beilein said that especially with them running
forward Jordan the floor, that'll really open upE
homore forward things."
would start up With the possibility of Staus- Jabari Parker of Duke is one of the nation's best players as a frssociEn Poes
d is held out. If kas not playing at 100 percent or
y, McGary still possibly at all, the Wolverines The freshman guard scored a ing to Robinson, "his confidence
at has also yet to could rely on reigning Big Ten career-best 24 points last Friday is sky-high right now."
Freshman of the Week Zak Irvin. in place of Stauskas and, accord- Though Michigan will face
plenty of competition on the
court Tuesday, off it the Wol-
verines will be competing with
the Cameron Crazies, the rau-
cous student section that calls
Call: #734-418-4115 CameronIndoor Stadiumhome.
Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com "There's several venues
around the country that have
this type of setting," Beilein
'uesday, December 3,2013 e said. "There's more than a few.
That's why college basketball
es Times Daily Crossword Puzzle is so special. But when you
look at those type of environ-
led by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lcwis ments, Duke is one of those
3 Had a hunch 37 There's a lane for 46 "I Believe I Can special ones as well. It's another
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two spin-offsi 39 Like Bach's 51 Some portals for grad studntsjusts o block from remember wins against top-
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fine" 41 Boggy noses and toes Free heat/water/parking! the road."
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9 Dictation whiz 44 Alaskan capital 58 Lady-to. 734-32-1244. Wt ut120sasi h
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represented it in Hidden Dragon" 59 Years in a camping out in Kryzewskiv-
11perBowl director decade ARBOR PROPERTIES ille, named after Blue Devils
choral group ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: Award-Winning Rentals in Kerrytown, head coach Mike Krzyzewski,
12 Dollhouse cups' C 0 W A T T I C A S D I Central Campus, Old West Side, on Saturday afternoon for the
saucers, etc. U G H S L H A S A N T I C Bun Park. Now Reting for 2014. desired spots.
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By ALEXA DETTELBACH
Daily Sports Writer
1. This team isn't in rebuilding
mode.
Someone forgot to tell the
women's basketball team that
this was supposed to be a transi-
tion year. Michigan coach Kim
Barnes Arico used the phrase
"transition season" all through-
out the summer, as lip service to
say the team wasn't expected to
be competitive. But after post-
ing a 5-3 record, the Wolverines
are more than ready to follow up
Barnes Arico's impressive first
year as head coach.
Michigan lost five seniors,
including four starters, and more
than 80 percent of its offense
from last season. But it's com-
pensating by playing strong team
basketball and finding offensive
production up and down the ros-
ter.
"On game day, we always have
a lot of energy, and that's impor-
tant," said freshman guard Siera
Thompson. "We practice really
hard and are always ready for
game day."
Hard work has been a staple
of Barnes Arico's program since
she took over. She often cites her
squad as the hardest working
team in America. And it's largely
due to work ethic that the Wol-
verines have been able to make
up for their lack of size and inex-
perience.
2. The Wolverines can run with
the big dogs.
Michigan faced its first ranked
opponent of the season on Satur-
day when it lost to No. 15 Louisi-
ana State, 64-62. The Wolverines
trailed by seven at halftime, but
they fought back. A second-half
surge had Michigan tied with
LSU (6-1) with 20 seconds left,
but a Tiger tip-in broke the stale-
mate and ended the game.
What made the game even
more impressive was the absence
of the leading scorer, junior-
transfer guard Shannon Smith,
who sat out the game after hurt-
ing her back in Friday's win
over Texas Tech. Losing Smith's
17.3 points per game is a lot to
overcome, especially against a
top-20 team, but four other play-
ers scored in double-digits and
Michigan's defense stepped up
to contain LSU.
With four Big Ten teams
ranked in the Top 25, the Wol-
verines will face their share of
ranked opponents before the
season ends. Michigan also has
a date with No. 5 Notre Dame on
Dec. 14.
But after their performance
against the Tigers, the Wolver-
ines have given every indication
that they can run with ranked
opponents.
3. Siera Thompson is no one-hit
wonder.
The freshman point guard
has started all but one game for
Michigan and has been a force in
the last three games. Thompson
is second on the team in scoring

with 14 points per game, while
also averaging 4.5 rebounds. But
in the last three games, Thomp-
son has averaged 19.7 points per
game and set her career high
twice in that span.
"In the beginning of the year,
she (was) struggling (and) kind
of hit the wall a little bit," Barnes
Arico said. "But we've been
spending some extra time talk-
ing to her, encouraging her. She's
really-responded the last couple
games and found her stride."
But Barnes Arico isn't sur-
prised by Thompson's produc-
tion.
She was the leading scorer
over the summer when the team
played three games overseas
during its trip to Europe.
"Overseas this summer, she
was incredible," Barnes Arico
said. "(During one game) she
was 7-for-9 from three. And I
picked on her after, saying, 'Are
you going to be a one-hit won-
der? I mean, you can't repeat this
performance.' And we had three
games over there, and she did it
every game."
4. Michigan isn't dependent on
one scorer.
At the beginning of the sea-
son, all signs pointed to Shan-
non Smith as the team's only big
scorer. But through eight games
that hasn't been the case. The
Wolverines found contributors
throughout their lineup - four
players average double-digit
points, and 12 players have seen
the court this season.
Thompson has become an
unexpected difference maker for
Michigan and has joined Smith
as the go-to scorer.
Additionally, junior forward
Cyesha Goree has played an
invaluable role for the Wolver-
ines, averaging 10.9 points on
62-percent shooting and seven
rebounds per game. Goree has
started all eight games and has
been critical to the team's suc-
cess.
Michigan also has junior
forward Nicole Elmblad, the
team's only returning starter,
and sophomore guard Madison
Ristovski, who average 12.3 and
9.3 points per game, respectively.
Elmblad, the team's lone cap-
tain, also leads the team with
nine rebounds and 4.6 assists per
game.
The Wolverines' ball move-
ment and team offensive suc-
cess has made up for their small
lineups and inexperience and is
a big reason they are sitting two
games above .500.
5. Bold Prediction: Michigan will
make the NCAA Tournament.
Sure it's a long way off, but
the Wolverines have shown that
they can play with Big Ten oppo-
nents and compete in the confer-
ence. Early season predictions
pinned Michigan as a team that
could miss out on the NIT Tour-
nament, but early season pro-
duction could set Michigan up to
finding its way to a third straight
NCAA Tournament berth by the
end of the season.

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